This invention relates to a process and apparatus for the production of synthetic chamois leather footwear and the footwear obtained thereby.
Various methods for producing footwear of synthetic plastic material such as PVC or polyurethane are known. In one of these methods liquid PVC is poured into a mold having the shape of the footwear to be produced and the liquid PVC fills the entire mold by gravity. This method is generally referred to as "slash molding".
A more sophisticated method is that of injection molding which permits to use plastics of higher density and thus to obtain footwear of higher quality. In this method it is common to stretch a stocking over the inner core of the mold to allow it to be impregnated by the injected plastic material and thus form an inner lining for the footwear.
According to another known method, sheets of thermoplastic rubber material are produced, cut according to appropriate patterns, sewn around a mold for forming the footwear and given their final permanent shape in an autoclave.
In all these prior art methods, the final product is footwear whose exterior aspect is immediately associated by an observer with a low level of elegance as this footwear usually has a smooth glossy appearance which is typical of inexpensive molded plastic materials such as PVC. This unsatisfactory aspect has therefore prevented widespread use of such footwear, notwithstanding the advantage of a low cost. In fact, for most applications of footwear a high level of elegance is required. So the use of such methods and materials has been limited to so-called "rain" footwear such as boots, ankle-boots and leggings, particularly for sports, as well as inexpensive sandals such as beach sandals.